How can we feel more connected to our loved ones, even when they're not around? Our guest tries a practice shown to make us feel less lonely and more socially connected.

Episode summary:

Mónica Guzmán describes herself as a raging extrovert, but she still feels less connected to others than she’d like to. Working from home, she often finds herself alone, or worse — feeling alone because she’s still in work mode when her family is around. She tried a Reminders of Connectedness practice by making subtle changes to the interior of her home – like decorating with more family photos and rearranging the living room  – and found that these seemingly small changes made a big difference in how she felt throughout her day.  We also hear from clinical psychologist Tegan Cruwys about the powerful influence our sense of connectedness can have on our mental health.

Practice: Reminders of Connectedness

1. Look around your home, office, or classroom and notice what things around you remind you of being connected to others – words, photographs, memorabilia.

2. As you move through your day, keep an eye out for things that evoke a feeling of connection. See where you can use them to add more reminders of connection to your space by adding them in or replacing existing objects. 

3. Finally, consider how the furniture is arranged. Are chairs facing toward or away from each other? Find any changes you can make to common spaces so that they’re more conducive to spontaneous interactions. 

---

Learn more about this practice at Greater Good In Action:

https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/reminders_of_connectedness

---

Today’s guests:

Mónica Guzmán is Senior Fellow for Public Practice at Braver Angels, a nonprofit working to depolarize America, founder and CEO of Reclaim Curiosity, an organization working to build a more curious world. She’s also the author of I Never Thought Of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. 

You can check out the book here: https://boook.link/I-Never-Thought-of-It-That-Way

Visit Mónica’s website:https://www.moniguzman.com/

Follow Mónica on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moniguzman/?hl=en

Follow Mónica on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/3k4pn4c4

Follow Mónica on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moniguzman

---

Tegan Cruwys is a professor and clinical psychologist at Australian National University. 

Learn more about Tegan and her work: https://tinyurl.com/ykepk5r4

---

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

11 Things to Do When You Feel Lonely: https://tinyurl.com/b8m86fhy

What the Longest Happiness Study Reveals About Finding Fulfillment: https://tinyurl.com/2s3b59fn

What Psychedelics Can Teach Us About Human Connection: https://tinyurl.com/5buyydw7

Skills You Need for Happier Relationships with Family: https://tinyurl.com/weeusepn

---

More Resources

The Atlantic - What Makes Us Happy: https://tinyurl.com/2nxpbhsd

NYT - I Love You But I Don’t Want To Sleep With You: https://tinyurl.com/tjnxbdtt

Scientific American - Why We Are Wired To Connect: ​​https://tinyurl.com/59u4ffua

---

Tell us about your experiences of connectedness. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap